A streetside glimpse of India from Bangalore - no paid news, no lobbying, no plants, no stringing along - just pure viewpoints. My own political education. Satire Alert (At times)!
Because, nothing is permanent, only interim!

Tuesday, February 27, 2007

Now they develop their own shipsIt was a different story 10 or 20 years ago, when shipping companies still designed their own ships. German engineers produced the blueprints and the Koreans built the ships. Nowadays Hapag-Lloyd no longer has a development department. The Koreans have been fast learners.

The generic situation seems the same...Until the end of the 1970s, the Europeans still dominated the global shipbuilding industry, continuing a tradition that went back centuries. That role shifted to the Japanese in the 1980s. Since the turn of the millennium, the Koreans have been in the lead, and currently have a global market share of close to 40 percent. But the Chinese are likely to overtake all other competitors soon.

Is any part of the ship made in Germany any more? The on-board computer maybe? Or the radar system? Zelck thinks for a moment, and then he says: "The cables to tie the ship to the dock. Somehow they haven't figured out how to make them here."

I dont know the mechanics of shipbuilding, but its seems to be an example emulation for the IT industry here to emulate.

2 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I think it is the same with everything, from electronic consumer items to cars to ships. USA/Europe -> Japan -> Korea -> China. China is just staring with consumer goods that fill WalMart and other stores. Chinese cars are coming to the US next year. Wonder when India will join the race ? (Other than IT, Garments, etc.). Maybe when the Chinese move up to bigger things and leave the small stuff to us.